# Is your town a donut town? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 7, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547 "2011-09-07T22:13:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/21 "2011-09-08T15:14:47Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > Sometimes, but mostly other things. Even in a Dunkin Donuts, most people don’t order donuts. They all get coffee but most will get muffins or bagels or an egg sandwich for breakfast. Likewise for Tim Hortons (at least in my experience); the number of people ordering doughnuts is an order of magnitude less than the number of people ordering coffee. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/22 "2011-09-08T15:45:32Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > All us pudgy folks are in the Valley. True, I’m possibly in the fittest part of town, and I’m bringing down the curve. I sometimes feel as if I should wear a t-shirt that says “Don’t worry, I’m just visiting. Now get back to your pilates class.” ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/23 "2011-09-08T16:11:18Z")
For being such a fat and ethnic place, [Cleveland does not appear to be a donut town](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=donuts&hl=en&ll=41.448388,-81.610222&spn=0.144367,0.41851&sll=41.519889,-81.695709&sspn=0.288414,0.837021&near=Cleveland,+OH&geocode=CQGXXRJclwqEFWc7eQIdT20h-ykta2jjLu8wiDFCGGL3VcsE7Q&gl=us&vpsrc=6&t=h&fll=41.448388,-81.610222&fspn=0.144367,0.41851&z=12). ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/24 "2011-09-08T16:17:49Z")
When I read the title, I thought the thread was going to be about cities with hollowed-out downtowns. My tiny town has no doughnut shops, but there are at least 15 Dunkin Donuts in neighboring towns, and a few independents, so I don’t feel too deprived. Why, it’s almost as if my town is a hollowed out center surrounded on all sides by doughnut shops. A doughnut doughnut hole? DD has all kinds of muffins, coffee, and other stuff. My problem with them in recent years is that the selection of doughnuts has pretty slim. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/25 "2011-09-08T16:21:46Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Mpls, not a donut town. That’s for sure. All the Dunkin donuts have disappeared along with the Krispy Kremes. Your choices seem to be the grocery store or independant bakeries. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/26 "2011-09-08T16:23:44Z")
There was once an amazing chain around my way called [Montgomery Donuts](http://www.flickr.com/photos/pighood/320065044/). They had many locations around the county, and during my high school years I lived only a few hundred yards from their main bakery (I could always find my way home by rolling down the windows and following the smell :)). They fell on hard times, went bankrupt, got bought and revived but then were wiped out when heavy snow collapsed the main bakery. But [they still survive](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102103981.html) in Crystal City, VA of all places, in a pizza takeaway shop, of all places. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/27 "2011-09-08T17:06:36Z")
So, what has to be the ratio? A yellow pages search reveals that my town, Lubbock, has at least one dedicated donut shop (not including general bakeries or grocery stores or Starbucks) per 13,125 residents, with 16 donut shops in a town with a population of 210,000. Interestingly, there are no Dunkin Donuts here, but there is a Krispy Kreme. Chains include Donut Depot, Rise ‘n’ Shine, Jack and Jill, and Daylight Donuts. Personally, I’d call Lubbock a donut town. Part of the reason may be the lack of other kinds of breakfast eateries; apart from IHOP, Denny’s, and Cracker Barrel, there aren’t many breakfast places in town. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/28 "2011-09-08T17:47:40Z")
Kalispell Montana is not a donut town. People generally get their donut fix at their local grocery store. And that’s just sad. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/29 "2011-09-08T17:50:52Z")
Montreal is a pretty big doughnut town… heck, one of the major employers, Bombardier, has a Tim Horton’s in their building! Both Tims and Dunkin’s Donuts are available here, as well as some smaller chains. IIRC there is an intersection on highway 7 in Milton Ontario with a full-sized Tims on one corner, an Esso with drive-though Tims on the opposite one, a Country Style doughnut shop on the third, and a car dealership on the fourth, that for a time advertised bakery products while you waited for your car to be serviced. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/30 "2011-09-08T18:07:51Z")
Toronto is definitely a doughnut town. Some intersections have 2 or 3 outlets so you don’t even have to cross the road! ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/31 "2011-09-08T19:32:14Z")
In Canada, donuts are more part of everyday life than in the USA. Here they are trending downscale. There are very few artisanal donut shops, donut shops with seriously good coffee, etc. I think the donut doesn’t lend itself well to the marketers and demographics that run this country. It’s a deep-fried sugary product that is too unhealthy to be a staple, and is not elegant enough to be an indulgence. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/32 "2011-09-09T20:05:50Z")
Saskatchewan is a doughnut province. The 4 biggest cities have 457,000 people combined, and 37 Tim Hortons between them. Following **Max Torque** ’s lead, that’s 1 per 12,350 people. And that’s not counting Robin’s Donuts, which has some sort of weird hold in Regina. On a side note, they’re starting to put Tim’s in new Super Walmarts. Christ, that’s a hell of a way to hook Canadians in. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/33 "2011-09-09T20:19:06Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > I’ve heard that in Springfield, NE, donuts are plentiful, but maybe only on Halloween in an alternate timeline. “Oooh, it’s raining again.” > [@Chicken\_Fingers](#): > > I’m in the D.C. suburbs. Not a donut town. Perhaps not DC proper (I haven’t noticed one way or the other), but certainly suburban Maryland between Baltimore and DC has a lot of Dunkin’ Donuts. Krispy Kreme made a go of it here a few years ago, but they’re gone now. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/34 "2011-09-09T20:25:07Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > Krispy Kreme made a go of it here a few years ago, but they’re gone now. Is the one on Dupont Circle is still there? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/35 "2011-09-09T21:21:20Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > Montreal is a pretty big doughnut town… heck, one of the major employers, Bombardier, has a Tim Horton’s in their building! Both Tims and Dunkin’s Donuts are available here, as well as some smaller chains. Heck, the downtown campus of Concordia has _three_ Tim’s counters one can visit without having to go outside (though admittedly one is in the Metro, not actually on school property, but is accessible by the tunnel that links the Hall and Library buildings with the Engineering and Business buildings). Krispy Kreme has tried to make it here, with limited success. I did my part, clearing their inventory of cheesecake donuts and lemon donuts, but the Marché Centrale location is now… ahem… a Tim’s. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/36 "2011-09-10T03:53:44Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Sadly, Phoenix is not a donut town. I only know the locations of two places. > > Btw, am I the only one who fucking loves the makeover Dunkin’ Donuts has received? DONUT DRIVETHROUGH. Genius. In what way is this a makeover? DD has had drive-throughs since I was a kid in the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/37 "2011-09-11T16:15:53Z")
Durham, NC is not a donut town. We have two Dunkin Donutses, one north and one south. Krispy Kreme is a North Carolina company and it has always flummoxed me that they don’t open a store here. "Hot Now"mmmmmm My husband and I have a game we play whenever we go to visit our NJ, NY Connecticut friends/family. “See if you can drive five minutes without seeing a Dunkin Donuts” You never can. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/38 "2011-09-11T17:20:08Z")
Portland is more of a croissant type of place, but there’s always [Voodoo Doughnuts](http://voodoodoughnut.com/index.php) when you just gotta have that bacon maple bar. ---
**Author:** ![coolbyrne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bc79bd/32.png) [@coolbyrne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coolbyrne)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/39 "2011-09-11T17:28:57Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > My home city is the place where the Tim Hortons chain was founded. You’d better believe it’s a donut town! 😃 Ha! Me too, **chrisk**. 🙂 Canada in general has the most doughnut shop per capita than any other country in the world. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547/40 "2011-09-11T17:49:04Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > In what way is this a makeover? DD has had drive-throughs since I was a kid in the 70s. It’s new to me. The only Dunkin’ Donuts I know of was built like a diner and didn’t have a drivethru until the entire building was remodeled a couple of years ago. Now it’s all fancy and slick rather than… rustic? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-town-a-donut-town/595547.md?page=3)